Three Italian towns are at loggerheads over which possesses the country’s
narrowest alleyway

Each of the trio uses the cramped corridors to attract tourists, but – according to a report by CNN – each insists that theirs is the tightest.

The first contender, Termoli – a walled town in the Molise region, on Italy’s Adriatic coast – has Rejiecelle, or “the little street”. According to Oscar De Lena, president of a local archaeological society, it dates back to the French invasion of 1799, and is as narrow at 15 inches in places.

"I've known it since the day of my birth," he told CNN. "So I started measuring it over and over again, up and down, down and up. I've covered each single point.

"It's just 41cm (16.14ins) wide but in some parts it shrinks down to 38cm (14.96ins)," said De Lena. "If you're a bit overweight and your tummy sticks out like mine then you'll have to walk sideways to squeeze through. Oh, and don't open an umbrella."

So proud is De Lena of his passage, that he travels up and down Italy with a metre stick, sizing up potential rivals. “"Wherever I go I measure each single street just to make sure we're the winners. So far, no one has beaten us,” he said.

One such rival, however, the Marche town of Ripatransone, claims it is the rightful owner of Italy’s narrowest alley.

Its passage - "a place where bodies shrink and dreams come true" - is actually wider, at 43cm (16.93ins), but a sign proudly proclaims it to be country’s tightest.

“We've been listed in the Guinness Book of Records and we'll fight till the very end to defend our top attraction,” said Ilene Acquaroli, also a curator at a local archaeological museum. She dismissed Termoli’s claim, insisting its passage fails to meet the criteria of a proper alley, which “must have a window or entrance along it, contain a pavement, and connect two roads”.

"Who cares about the other towns?" added Carlo Michettoni, a waiter at the nearby Sammagno bar. "Italy's tightest pathway is here."

But a third contender is further muddying the water - "Kisswomen Alley", in the Umbrian town of Citta della Pieve. Despite being wider – at a still stingy 45cm (17.72ins), Fiorella Fringuello of the local tourist office, said: "We'll keep on saying that it's Italy's narrowest alley.... It's part of our identity.

Kisswomen Alley, in the Umbrian town of Citta della Pieve (Photo: Alamy)